Etymograph

English

vellicate

Vellicate comes from Latin vellicō ‘to twitch’, from vellō ‘to pull or tear down’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- ‘to hit, to strike’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₃-1‘to hit, to strike’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wl̥néh₃ti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*welnō1‘to pull, tear’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvellō1‘to pull or tear down’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvellicō2as vellicare, past participle‘to twitch’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvellicatus2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1688vellicate2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin vellico
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English vellicate
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1688, John Norris: “Sir, I Have received yours, and reading the Confirmation…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₃-Wiktionary, Latin vellico‘to hit, to strike’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wl̥néh₃tiWiktionary, Latin vellicoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*welnōWiktionary, Latin vellico‘to pull, tear’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvellōWiktionary, Latin vellico‘to pull or tear down’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvellicōWiktionary, English vellicateas vellicare, past participle‘to twitch’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvellicatusWiktionary, English vellicate
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1688vellicateWiktionary, English vellicate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1688, John Norris: “Sir, I Have received yours, and reading the Confirmation…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- ‘to hit, to strike’

vulnerable, invulnerability, 20 more

through Latin vellō ‘to pull or tear down’

pull, convulsion, convulsive, 7 more

Today it means

verb To touch (a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “vellicate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin vellico. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- / vellicate

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